October 10th is End of Support for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2

Is your business still running on Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2?

According to Microsoft, support for these servers will end on October 10th, 2023. This means that after October 10th, they will no longer be getting security updates, non-security updates, bug fixes, or technical support. This makes all businesses running on these servers easy targets for hackers.

If your business is still running on a Server 2012 system chances are you’re relying on other old hardware and technology at your office. Keeping your hardware and software up to date is best business practice—relying on old, unsupported hardware automatically puts your business at significant risk.

Keep Your Business Secure with Ann Arbor Tech Support

Network Services Group can help you migrate all your old system data to new software and hardware. Our priority is keeping your sensitive data safe and secure, as well as keeping your business running smoothly. Reach out to Ann Arbor tech support to speak with an IT expert, and we’ll help you make a plan to update your tech and protect your business. 

To get started, call (877) 815-6974 or submit a contact form here.

The Lahaina Fires - Excerpt from Don's Experience

The day after the fires, one of our neighbors took his moped and drove into Lahaina.  The police tried to wave him off, but he kept going.  He took a bunch of pictures and videos and showed them to us when he returned.  Everyone in the neighborhood was squeezing in around him trying to look at his phone.  Sure enough, pretty much the entire town had burned down.

Think about this – there were no gas stations, no grocery stores, and no restaurants.  Everything was closed, because even the stores that didn’t burn down didn’t have power, and for the first week the roads were mostly closed so you couldn’t go anywhere.

Local volunteers started stepping up, gathering donations and making supply runs.  Various distribution hubs started popping up all over the place.  The locals organized and ran it all – the State and Federal governments were nowhere to be seen.

Continue reading Don’s story here.

The people in Lahaina are in need.  Some of them lost everything, and they could use your help.  If you can find it in your heart, please consider donating to one or more of the following charities.  The road ahead will be long, but with your help, the good people of Lahaina will recover and rebuild.  #LahainaStrong

• Honokowai Relief Fund: https://www.givesendgo.com/honokowairelief
• Mercy Chefs: https://give.mercychefs.com/maui_fires_web
• World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
• Maui Humane Society: https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/
• Maui Food Bank: https://mauifoodbank.org/

Network Services Group is an IT Support Specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan

NSG has been helping local businesses with computer and network services for over 20 years. Our goal is to establish long-term relationships with our customers and assist them every step of the way in building their IT infrastructure. For more information, visit https://www.nsgroupllc.com/about 

The Lahaina Fires - Excerpt from Don's Experience

On the night of the fires in Maui and Lahaina, around 10:15 p.m., my wife and I were woken by a loud banging on our door.  It turns out it was our friends, Mark and Robyn, and they told us there was a huge fire in Lahaina, the entire city burned down, and they thought their house had burned down along with it.  They threw some stuff in their cars (including their kitty) and drove north to get away from the fire.

Of course, we took them in and were extremely grateful they were safe, but at the same time we were devastated to hear about the fire and the entire town burning down.  It takes a while for something like that to sink in.  “What do you mean, the entire town?  You probably just mean a couple of buildings, or maybe a couple of blocks?”  They made it clear that no, it was the whole town.  I can’t even imagine how they must’ve felt thinking that they had lost everything, but at least they were safe.

Continue reading Don’s story here.

The people in Lahaina are in need.  Some of them lost everything, and they could use your help.  If you can find it in your heart, please consider donating to one or more of the following charities.  The road ahead will be long, but with your help, the good people of Lahaina will recover and rebuild.  #LahainaStrong

• Honokowai Relief Fund: https://www.givesendgo.com/honokowairelief

• Mercy Chefs: https://give.mercychefs.com/maui_fires_web

• World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/

• Maui Humane Society: https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/

• Maui Food Bank: https://mauifoodbank.org/

Network Services Group is an IT Support Specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan

NSG has been helping local businesses with computer and network services for over 20 years. Our goal is to establish long-term relationships with our customers and assist them every step of the way in building their IT infrastructure. For more information, visit https://www.nsgroupllc.com/about

6 Steps for Backing Up Your Data

How often do you back up your data?

In terms of backups, you will want a reliable and comprehensive backup plan that meets the following metrics:

1. Identify all important data, and ensure it is stored in approved places that are included in your backups (e.g. shared network drive) as opposed to in your local “my documents” folder.
2. Business class backup software such as Veeam or Acronis that can make full system images, perform incremental backups, offer encryption, and feature granular restore capability (ability to restore the whole system or individual files).
3. Local backups are stored on separate network storage device that only your backup software knows about.  External drives plugged into your server or mapped network drives are just as likely to be encrypted as your server itself.
4. Off-site backups.  Make sure you have off-site backup capability, either to removable media that is regularly swapped and taken off-site, or cloud storage.
5. Off-line backups.  Sure, cloud backups are great and provide off-site capability.  But by definition, cloud backups mean “on-line,” and there is at least some possibility that anything that is online can be discovered and hacked.  Off-site backups (such as removable media that has been physically disconnected) cannot be hacked because they are physically unplugged and off-line.  This will save your day if all of your other backups get encrypted.
6. Make sure your IT support is competent and has experience backing up and restoring customer systems and data.  How does it work?  How long will it take?  Have you ever had to do it before?

Read more about protecting your data with backups here.

Reach Out to a Computer Service in Ann Arbor

If you miss even one of these, you are setting yourself up for a bad day.  But don’t despair – NSG can help.  If you aren’t 100% confident that you are fully protected, please reach out and let us know.  We’d be happy to review and discuss and come up with a plan to keep you safe and your data secure.

If you're ready for comprehensive computer service in Ann Arbor, contact NSG here!

Backups: The Last Line of Defense

Are you concerned about your company getting hacked?

You’ve read about it in the news.  Big companies and government agencies getting hacked with ransomware and being down for days, and having to pay exorbitant ransom in order to get their data back. Don’t let is happen to you.

I’m going to let you in a little secret.  The best way to protect yourself from ransomware is…. With backups!  I know it sounds simple, but stick with me here.  It’s more complicated than it sounds.

Yes – you should have business class antivirus software.

Yes – you should have a business class firewall.

Yes – you should have a maintenance and monitoring plan in place to keep all of your systems up to date with security patches.

Yes – you should be training your users to be cautious and not just click on attachments and links in random emails.

Yes – you should have strong passwords and multi-factor authentication enabled.

All of that stuff is important, but none of it is foolproof.  Antivirus and firewalls can only protect you from known threats.  Same with system updates.  It’s critically important to keep your systems patched and up to date with the latest security updates, but even so new threats are discovered each and every day.

Even with all of your precautions it’s possible that some hacker/scammer somewhere will trick someone into clicking on something and then… Bam!  You’re infected.

It would absolutely be better to not get infected in the first place, but there are no guarantees, so your last line of defense are good backups and a disaster recovery plan.

Read more about protecting your data with backups here.

Get Protection with an Ann Arbor Computer Service

Network Services Group provides comprehensive computer service in Ann Arbor, including backups and disaster recovery. To discuss a protection plan, call (877) 815-6974 or submit a contact form here.

Ditch the Long Contract Lock-In

Looking for a provider that doesn’t lock you into a multi-year contract?

A lot of MSP's that we've encountered don't even want to talk to you unless you sign up for their full managed services plan, and even then, they want to lock you into multi-year contracts with built in price hikes each year. Yikes! 

At NSG, we work hard to provide great service and support with the goal of making our customers happy. We don't see the need to lock people into long term contracts. If you like what we do, then you'll stick with us. It seems that too many MSP's are interested in making their accountants happy as opposed to their customers.

Read more about MSP’s here.

Trust Your Managed Services to an Ann Arbor IT Support Specialist 

If you’re looking for an all-in-one MSP that cares about your business, look no further than Network Services Group. We’re an IT Support Specialist in Ann Arbor with twenty-two years of experience in the industry. Call (877) 815-6974 or submit a contact form here for all of your IT needs.

Managed Services from NSG

Does your business need a managed service provider?

NSG offers a wide range of services, including managed services. Under a managed service agreement, there is a fixed price that includes monitoring, maintenance, and support services. This is great for companies who want to know what they will be spending each month on IT support. 

We also provide some of these services separately, such as monitoring and maintenance plans, and then bill for any additional support services as they are utilized. 

The important thing is to have some kind of monitoring and maintenance plan in place to keep your systems up and running and secure, as well as having access to quality and experience support when you need it.

Read more about MSP’s here.

Managed Services from an Ann Arbor IT Support Specialist

If you’re looking for an all-in-one MSP that cares about your business, look no further than Network Services Group. We’re an IT Support Specialist in Ann Arbor with twenty-two years of experience in the industry. Call (877) 815-6974 or submit a contact form here for all of your IT needs.